2/19

When we began discussing this question, I don’t think I fully understood the definitions of free will and determinism. My belief in God is the centrifugal to everything that happens in my life.  In church I was taught that God is omnipotent and that he can do whatever he wants.  However, I was also taught that in order for God’s power to be legitimate, humans must choose to follow him of their own free will.  The readings that accompanied the scripture this week led me to realize that free will and determinism cannot coexist.  If God truly is all powerful and all knowing then at the end of the day he is in complete control of my life, which means that I don’t truly have free will.  This argument is supported over and over throughout the scripture.  In Psalms, King David expresses how deeply God knows easy of us, and how he is taking care of us in every situation.  Ecclesiastes also discusses how there is a time for everything and how humans have no control over what happens to them.  I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into long term events that happen to humans, such as meeting the person you are going to marry, or dying, or supernatural events.  These events are range from small to extreme, but I believe that God decides all of these things.  I don’t believe that I have control over when I die or if I tornado hits my house.  The daily choices I make can affect these things, but they don’t allow me to choose whether or not I am a victim of something supernatural.  I could quit smoking in order to live longer, but die in a car crash the next day.  These scriptures elaborate on the power that God has and how he can interfere in my life at any time.  Due to these discoveries in the readings this week, I think that I am leaning towards determinism.  However, this belief is entirely based on my faith in God.  In my college years, I have struggled with the idea that maybe the God that I know, doesn’t exist.      My entire belief system, including determinism, is centered upon this belief.  If I lose my faith in God then I think that I would have to completely reevaluate whether or not humans write their own stories.